Roundup: Ford’s $600 million choices

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You might be excused if you were given the impression that things are going so well in Ontario right now that the government is spending its precious time and resources on the pressing need of…getting beer and wine into corner stores. Well, Doug Ford has decided that, in any case, and that he’s willing to pay out hundreds of millions in order to compensate the Beer Store—a conglomerate owned by the major breweries—for breaking their monopoly even earlier than he had planned to, to the tune of $225 million, with a possible $375 million in additional fees being rebated, meaning that this move could cost the treasury as much as $600 million.

So, to recap—that’s $225 million, but probably really $600 million, that could have gone toward something like keeping rural emergency rooms from having to close on weekends because they lack sufficient staff; it could have gone toward reforming how primary-care physicians are compensated so that they aren’t fleeing the field; it could have gone toward fixing the shortfalls in the early learning and child care programme that this government has caused by under-investment; or shoring up shelters housing asylum seekers; or really, any number of things that will actually have a meaningful impact on the lives of people in this province. But no, it’s going to pay these conglomerates.

Priorities.

Ukraine Dispatch:

While visiting Kharkiv, president Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that Ukraine now has “combat control” over the region after nearly two weeks of Russians trying to make advances.

https://twitter.com/ukraine_world/status/1793904060535636362

Good reads:

  • Justin Trudeau says that he expects everyone to abide by the ICJ ruling, calling for a halt to the operation in Rafah, and for Hamas to release hostages.
  • Trudeau also said that regarding those US senators chiding him about defence spending, the government is working towards the two percent target.
  • Jean-Yves Duclos says the government is considering changing Canada Post’s legislative mandate to give them more flexibility as their losses mount.
  • CSIS director David Vigneault is nuancing the talk from the Hogue Commission about disagreement with the PMO on certain intelligence.
  • The Competition Bureau is looking into Loblaws and Metro using property controls to restrict competition, primarily in Halifax but also across the country.
  • CBSA’s union says they will be in a strike position by June, and there could be disruptions at the borders if that’s the case.
  • The agriculture committee tabled their report on food prices, calling for reducing barriers to competition, but also policies to tackle “excess net profits.”
  • Independent MP Kevin Vuong is trying to join the Conservatives after auditioning hard for them for the past year (but they don’t sound like they want to have him).
  • Newfoundland and Labrador are repatriating the remains of a soldier who died in France in WWI to rest in a Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in St. John’s.
  • Saskatchewan Government House Leader Jeremy Harrison resigned as House Leader (but not as a minister) after admitting to carrying a firearm in the legislature.
  • The leaders of BC United and the BC Conservatives are now in an all-out slap-and-hair-pull fight.
  • Jane Philpott outlines her plan to help save primary care doctors.

Odds and ends:

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One thought on “Roundup: Ford’s $600 million choices”

  1. Ford sucks up to Trudeau for Fed money. I call him the smiling bandit. Oh! He is also a buddy of Peter Polly. The taxpayers will welcome that alliance if PP gets his autocracy. Canada, buckle up, you future is everything you wish for.

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